The LBT Innovations Limited (ASX: LBT) share price is deep in the red today. This comes regardless of the medical technology company providing investors with a positive update yesterday.
At the time of writing, LBT Innovations shares are down a sizeable 14.29% to 12 cents apiece.
What did LBT Innovations announce?
According to its announcement, LBT Innovations advised Clever Culture Systems (CCS) has signed an exclusive distribution agreement with Thermo Fisher Scientific.
CCS is a joint-venture company owned equally by LBT Innovations and German medical equipment group Hettich.
Thermo Fisher is a leading provider of instrumentation and consumables in the US microbiology market.
The 5-year deal will see Thermo Fisher become the exclusive distributor for the company's automated culture plate reader, APAS Independence, in the US.
APAS Independence is the first and only FDA-cleared automated culture plate reader available in the United States. The innovative technology uses advanced imaging and artificial intelligence to interpret bacterial growth on culture plates.
Under the agreement, Thermo Fisher will engage in sales and marketing activities for APAS Independence in the US. In addition, the company will also provide installation, maintenance and support services to customers.
The agreement is a major milestone for LBT Innovations as it will provide sales and commercial activities in the US market which is the largest in the world. It offers more than 1,500 target laboratories for the potential placement of APAS Independence readers.
LBT Innovations CEO and managing director Brent Barnes commented:
This is a really important milestone for LBT and represents a major step forward in our commercialisation strategy in the United States.
We have spoken previously about the importance of appointing well recognised, leading distributors to support our sales efforts in key markets. Thermo Fisher is a leader in microbiology that is recognised globally, and we will benefit greatly from the depth and strength of their sales team in the United States…
We are very pleased to now have two of the world's largest microbiology companies selling our technology across the two main markets of the United States and Europe, which is a further validation of benefits of our technology.
LBT Innovations share price summary
Since the beginning of the year, LBT Innovations shares have moved in circles, remaining relatively unchanged for the period. When zooming out to the last 12 months, however, its shares are down around 8%.
LBT Innovations presides a market capitalisation of roughly $33 million and has over 289 million shares on its books.
